


700 Days

by poprockshawty



Series: 700 [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Cheating, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 16:19:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18450182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poprockshawty/pseuds/poprockshawty
Summary: By a twist of fate, Sehun and Youngeun have been dating for 700 days. When a scandal from Sehun's past becomes unraveled, life as Youngeun knows it is about to change. Will it mess up their tempo, or will it make them stronger?





	700 Days

They say that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. But Youngeun was far from prepared when the opportunity came along. This opportunity was tall, broad-shouldered, and strikingly handsome — she found him in the background when she happened to be taking a selfie with her group of friends at a carnival. He was gorgeous enough to make her forget that she was supposed to tap on the screen. But soon enough he was out of sight and out of mind too, and her focus returned to the long array of game booths. Tempted by one of the cutest plushies she had ever laid eyes on, it was easy for her to decide she was going to give this game a try. It could not possibly hurt to just toss a coin, right? Except it did hurt — when someone had rudely bumped into her from the side, causing her coin to whirl in an entirely different direction.

This place was more crowded than she thought; people were pushing impatiently, and it seemed like a drink was spilled; tapioca rolling on the floor, flavoured tea staining expensive brand new sneakers, and instantly squeaks in protest and curses were heard as everybody in the vicinity attempted to dodge the mess. As what happened had begun to register in her mind, she frowned and looked up at the person who bumped into her shoulder, glowering in dissatisfaction. But her glare had quickly softened to a puzzled stare when she realised that this was the very same handsome stranger she saw from her front camera a while ago — and  _holy_ , he looked even more gorgeous, ethereal even, up close.

She quickly looked away when one of her friends patted her on the back, demanding that she redirect her attention to the game she was supposed to playing. Her friends were cheering for her but for a moment she was not even sure what they were so stoked about, until once again it hit her that she had won the grand prize — and she would not have been able to score this win if it were not for the accident just now. Still in a daze, she accepted the big plushie that the booth staff handed to her, all smiles and congratulations.

Perhaps it was because she still subconsciously wanted to visually appreciate a man so good-looking, or perhaps it was because he was trying to talk to her, she found herself turning to look at him again.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to... just now," he said shyly, scratching the nape of his neck. "Are you alright?"

"...yeah, I'm fine, no worries," she uttered unsurely, not anticipating the conversation. At her friends' usher, she was about to turn on her heel, but was quickly stopped by him again.

"Hey, wait a moment," he called out urgently. "I'm never gonna have the luck of winning the grand prize. But can I borrow your prize? I'll just take a selfie with it. It'll just be a moment."

She could not make her mind up. What if he grabbed it and just ran away with it? He was a complete stranger after all, and just because he was gorgeous did not mean he could be trusted. And yet, he was partly the reason why she won at all.

"Sure," she blurted, and handed the plushie to him. He smiled cutely — he was so cute. How could anyone be so cute? She could hardly help but gaze at him the whole time, rooted to the spot.

"Thanks," he said afterward, returning what was hers. "Have a lovely day." He waved and walked away casually.

It had never occurred to her that she would ever cross paths again with this good-looking stranger. But as it happened, social media could be an overwhelmingly powerful tool at bringing people together. As it turned out, he had uploaded his selfie on Instagram and it popped up in the location search. It was a few hours after her double-tap on his post that she received a private message from him. Of course it would start out as a casual chat. But after a couple of months, those heart-fluttering conversations had turned into a number of milk tea dates, movie dates, dessert dates, as well as late night sharing sessions, confiding in each other, and being there for each other. It was only a natural progression to holding hands as he insisted that she stand on the 'safer side' of the pedestrian walk, and one goodnight kiss turned into plenty.

Even if she was ever guilty of underestimating how strongly she felt for him, surely any doubts she might have had were out of the way by now, as their 2-year anniversary was coming up. It had been 700 days of loving Oh Sehun, of bringing immense happiness into each other's lives, of becoming an indelible piece of each other that stretched beyond any level of intimacy. These were possibly the best days of her life, and it was comforting to know that they always had each other, even when life got tough, especially because of work.

For Youngeun, it might have just been yet another ordinary, boring work day. For her supervisor, however, it was his last, and everybody in the office was invited to the farewell dinner for him this evening, an occasion she was expected to attend.

Not at all surprisingly, a lot of alcohol was served. By the time the dinner ended, Youngeun was a bit tipsy yet some of her more senior colleagues, including the one who was going to take over the role as her new supervisor, were quite drunk, and had a bit of trouble walking a straight line. Once the lot of them exited the building, Youngeun spotted Sehun's car immediately, grateful that he was here to pick her up. Granted, he tended to be quite protective over her, and she found it endearing.

Truthfully, she had not expected him to be able to make it tonight. After all, for the past couple of months, she had kind of noticed that they were spending less and less time together. There had been fewer pictures of the two of them on her camera roll. Conversations on the phone grew briefer. His text messages became more concise, to put it nicely. He had less time for the relationship because he was busy with work; she knew and believed with all her heart that work was the reason. It was not because of infidelity or because he had anything negative to hide from her. She was more than thankful that the trust in this relationship had always been strong. But what she did not appreciate so much was that as of late, she did not get to spend much time with him. It was not so bad that the dates were kept simple as long as they were also kept sweet. Rather, it was a bit less easy to deal with when each time she spent the night at his place it was usually hard, fast, passionate sex and then catching up on sleep. Both of them were understandably exhausted, especially Sehun. Even his parents were getting quite concerned about him overworking himself. But she did miss the nights when they could talk about anything and everything until the sun came up, not even yearning for a single wink of sleep, not when it was so fulfilling to be chatting and bonding with him like that. How should she talk to him about this recent issue though? She knew full well how diligent he was, and she was confident that he was working hard for a future for both of them. But if this pattern continued and he ended up with less and less time for her, it would be difficult to make this relationship keep going as well. Still, she was pleasantly surprised that he was here tonight.

Despite the loud laughter and ongoing gossiping among her colleagues, Youngeun had found the chance to politely say goodbye and excuse herself. It had been a tiring week anyway, and there was not much more she wanted than to just get home and rest. As she approached Sehun's car, however, she found that somebody else had beaten her to it — Mirae, her drunken supervisor-to-be, throwing herself at the car. Her eyes were fixed on Sehun with what seemed to be wistfulness and even bitterness. Startled, Youngeun went to her senior's side and tried to help her regain her balance, only to get brushed off impetuously. Mirae stayed entirely focused on Sehun, clinging to him with a strange sense of familiarity that really made Youngeun feel uneasy. Sehun looked equally uncomfortable, attempting to untangle himself from her, but with no success. All he bore in his eyes was pity and shame, eager to put some distance between her and himself.

"Sehun-ah," Mirae slurred. "It's been a while. Do you know how long it's been since you broke up with me? At least 3 years, right? I still think of you and when we were together..."

Youngeun stumbled backward upon hearing those words. She never knew that Sehun and her supervisor were acquainted with each other. It made no sense to Youngeun that Mirae was talking about getting dumped by Sehun. Wasn't Mirae married? Youngeun could recall quite clearly that Mirae was showing off to some of their other colleagues the other day, going on about her husband taking her on a trip to Scandinavia to celebrate their 5-year wedding anniversary. If she was telling the truth and it was more than 3 years ago that Sehun broke up with her, then something was not adding up...

Youngeun shook her head in disbelief, unable to accept what was unfolding before her eyes and what she was hearing. Yet when Sehun finally faced Mirae and said her name — this cruel reality got cemented. He also said something else, something along the lines of telling her not to bother him anymore, that it was over for them a long time ago, that he could never be with her anyway, but Youngeun could not be sure. She could not catch all of it as she was too taken aback to. This revelation had dawned on her as too much of a shock for her to properly listen to the conversation between Mirae and Sehun.

Forgetting to breathe, Youngeun gasped suddenly. Despite the blood pumping to her ears and heating up her face due to the effect of the alcoholic drinks she had had just now, she was certain that it was the unpleasant surprise and humiliation in this moment that had made her so flustered and upset. She clawed at the straps of her handbag, palms sweating nervously as she looked on in worry, not knowing how she ought to react. She remained rather helpless while Sehun reiterated to his inebriated ex that he wished she would leave him alone. She would not listen and things stayed this way until a few other colleagues had come up to see what the commotion was all about. Thankfully, they had managed to haul Mirae away from Sehun's car and got her to stop harassing him. But even as they had sent her home on a taxi, the awkwardness was nowhere near its end yet.

Finally, Youngeun got into Sehun's car, and the ride was in silence. Neither of them could really find the words to say. She was very confused and honestly quite disturbed by what she had just witnessed. But she was also desperate for answers, and she hoped that Sehun would be able to give her a plausible explanation that would make her feel better.

"Mirae was telling the truth," said Sehun, finally, solemnly, flatly. "But unfortunately, I know from experience that even when she's telling the truth, she never tells the whole truth." He paused, licking his lips and resisting the urge to sigh. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have wasted my time on her. We dated for a year, but then I discovered..."

"That she was married." Quietly, Youngeun finished his sentence for him.

"Exactly that." If he did not need to keep his eyes on the road he would have lowered his head in shame. At the moment he did not exactly want to vocalise his thoughts and feelings, figuring that it had been 3 years since he made that appalling discovery. But it was news to Youngeun and he figured that she must be more affected by this than he was. Good thing she caught on though — it was a silent, unspoken understanding between the two of them.

"It must have been difficult for you," she replied unsurely, chewing on her lip.

"I ended things with her as soon as I found out. I felt cheated...even though  _I_  was the outsider," he recounted, biting his lip. The car stopped at a red light, allowing the lighting from the street lamp to hit his face from an angle that would not have allowed scrutiny of his facial expressions. But it was as if he did not want to be seen anyway, taking comfort in the darkness of the night and would rather be shrouded in it.

"And...why have you never told me about it?" She asked gently. The words came out a bit wrong. No matter how she phrased it...it still sounded blunt. She had not meant to interrogate him, nor was her tone harsh, but she just  _had_  to know. If it had been anybody else that he used to date, a complete stranger to her, it would have been much less complicated. But Mirae was her future supervisor. It changed things, and not for the better.

"I just felt so humiliated and devastated," he answered, only noticing the green light when the driver of the car behind them honked impatiently. "Of course, I didn't think that she and you would end up in the same firm. And I just kept telling myself that...as long as I have you now and we are happy, then my past wouldn't be important. I wish it wouldn't matter. I never thought it would get in the way...I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she emphasised, but remained disconcerted and worried.

"It was tough, but I got over it. I'm not hung up on her anymore. I've learned it the hard way that I have no future with her. My future is with you," he said in reassurance.

Youngeun's primary concern was not that Sehun would go back to Mirae. She trusted him enough to believe that he would not leave her for a married woman. Clearly, Sehun did not want to have anything to do with Mirae anymore, but the same could not be said for the older woman. Youngeun could never be sure of how Mirae truly felt about Sehun. Did she still have feelings for him? 3 years was nothing if Sehun was someone that could take a lifetime to forget. Mirae was very drunk just now, indeed, but the way she clung to Sehun and would not let him go...

Youngeun was worried. Her interactions with Mirae only concerned a professional setting, but what if this new supervisor made things personal? What if she had a grudge against Youngeun for being Sehun's new girlfriend? Would Youngeun really be alright with working with Mirae if every time she looked at this married woman, it made her blood boil to think that this was someone who had lied to Sehun for an entire year? Someone who could still be very much emotionally attached to  _her_  boyfriend? Someone who hurt the person she loved the most in the whole wide world? And now, in addition to being a potential threat to their relationship of 2 years, it was very possible that Youngeun was going to feel uncomfortable being in the same workspace with Mirae.

Youngeun only pulled away from her thoughts and turned to face Sehun at the touch of his hand when he entwined his fingers with hers. Receptively, she gave his palm a squeeze.

"I can't believe what she's done to you. I don't like her. It's gonna suck to have to see her at work every day," she sighed.

"I know you're worried that she's gonna give you a hard time. But you're not made of glass — I know you're tough and you can get through anything," he said confidently. He brought her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

She was not even in the mood to smile, but once she looked at him...it was impossible to not smile. He was her whole happiness, right here.

"Well, it's mainly because even when there are things that I don't want to do, I think of you and our future and then I find it in me to endure it. Without you, I don't think I'd be able to do it," she admitted. "But I also think that before we think about the future, we should be thinking about the present. And right now...Sehun, I think we aren't spending enough time with each other. You're always on my mind and I don't doubt that it goes both ways, but you remember how we used to be? We could chat for hours and hours, do movie marathons, and go to our favourite spots in town, but we don't seem to have time to do that anymore. I know we're not carefree, young students anymore, but it sucks that we can't always finish a whole conversation without either one of us falling asleep already. What if we're growing stale? How's that gonna affect our future? And I don't really see us getting less busy anytime soon. So...you see how this is gonna be a problem, right?"

He paused to think for a moment. "Yes, baby. But you already have enough on your mind. The last thing I'll do is add to your worries —"

"I didn't say it was your fault," she blurted, quick to avoid creating the impression that she was subtly throwing in any accusations. Confrontations were more often than not messy, even when they were not that aggressive. If they were already going to have to fight tooth and nail to make time for each other, then she was most certainly going to prevent a quarrel at all costs.

"No, I know," he reassured her. "I understand what you mean though. And I'll make it up to you. If there's a problem, we fix it. We make things work, the way we always do."

No doubt she was relieved to have averted a crisis, but that relief was overtaken by her newfound curiosity. "You will?" She asked, wondering how he was able to come up with something so quickly.

He nodded confidently. "I will. Now come on," he said as he switched off the engine, making both of them take note of the silence in the car park attached to his apartment. "Let's go up."

* * *

As the weekend flew by, it was time to go to work again. Mondays were always dreaded, but this time more than usual.

Although the rules on punctuality were not strictly enforced at Youngeun's office, she still made an effort to turn up on time. But as luck would have it, there just  _had_  to be a traffic accident on the way. As a result she ended up showing up to work a whole half-hour later than she was supposed to clock in at. It was as if she could  _smell_  the trouble and dread in the office already, as one of her colleagues shot her a look of pity, not quite daring to look on even as she cautiously returned to her seat.

She got into quite a lot of trouble for her tardiness, and the lecture that her lovely new supervisor gave her was blown out of proportion. Poor Youngeun could only keep her mouth shut as Mirae went on and on, actually taking pleasure in admonishing the junior in front of everybody, not privately in her office.  _Nice_.

Youngeun seriously wondered how in the world someone so vindictive and punitive could possibly attract someone as compassionate and considerate as Sehun. What kind of 'image management' did Mirae have to pull when she was around him in order to trick him into thinking that it was a good idea to date her? She was a big fat liar, a deceptive bitch, a manipulative cheater, and Youngeun just wished that —

"Ya! Are you even listening to me?!" Mirae exclaimed, slapping a folder onto the table. Almost everybody jumped at that sudden display of aggression, even her innocent coworkers. They all stopped typing and in that moment of utter silence only the repetitive noise made by the air conditioner could be heard.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Youngeun gulped and uttered quietly.

"Were you even paying attention to what I was saying?" Mirae folded her arms across her chest in anger. "Tell me, what did I just say?"

Shit.

* * *

When it was lunch break and Youngeun managed to get some time to herself, at least just to breathe, she was about to give Sehun a call. But  _that_  was when her phone buzzed and  _he_  was the one calling instead.

"Yeoboseyo?" Her tone was flat, even though getting to talk with Sehun was probably the only good thing to happen to her today.

"I wish you'd just call me 'yeobo'," said Sehun, and it was as if she could  _see_  his smile over the phone just from hearing his voice.

"Sehun, I'm really not in the mood to be entertained by any jokes. Sorry."

He cleared his throat and noted how serious she was. "Alright. Just thought I'd call to check in on you. So, how bad is it? I am ready to do anything and everything to make my girlfriend happy again."

Momentarily, the corners of her lips were slightly upturned at his words, but still she sighed. "It's really bad. It's — oh, it's just awful. Ugh."

"You wanna talk about it over dinner tonight?" He offered.

"You're on," she agreed immediately, but paused. "But wait. You sure you can make it to dinner tonight? I thought you had to —"

"I have some news of my own for you as well," he said mysteriously, clicking his fingers as he tried to contain the elation in his voice. "But the thing is, can  _you_  get out of the office in time for dinner?"

"Oh, trust me. I'll find a way," she replied crossly.

"So, the fried chicken place right next to Boots? I'll book a table. Half past seven?" He suggested.

"Make it seven sharp," she scowled. "See you then."

Reluctantly, she went back to work.

* * *

After the workday, Youngeun plopped down onto the seat next to Sehun. Rolling her eyes, she buried her face in her hands and leaned on him, literally.

"It was hell," she said, utterly exhausted and frustrated.

He planted a kiss at the top of her head, gently rubbing her arm with his thumb. "I'm ready. Tell me everything."

"I don't even know where to start," she sighed and shut her eyes for a moment. "Things were going badly from before I even got there."

"I heard there was an accident on the route you take to work. Did that affect you?" He asked.

She sat up straight. "Oh gosh, yes. Yes it fucking did. She gave me  _so_  much shit for it. And it was in front of  _everybody_  in the office. It was  _so_  fucking humiliating. Like what the fuck? It wasn't even my fault that there was a car crash and that's why I showed up really late. The road was completely blocked; what was I supposed to do about it? I really wonder, was she that temperamental too when she was with you? I was aware that I'd be dealing with a bitch, but I never knew she could be  _that_  bitchy. Honestly, my former supervisor would never have reacted like that. Why in the world he chose  _her_  to take over his post in the firm is absolutely beyond my comprehension," she huffed, took a deep breath, and then continued.

"That's not even all. Oh, that's hardly the half of it. I knew she was gonna give me extra work just to make me feel even shittier, because she's a shit person, but even objectively that's unreasonable when my desk is literally  _full_ , with all the documents — correction,  _stacks_  of documents and sketches that she gave me. We have three new student interns at our office and  _they_  have absolutely nothing on their hands, so you'd think that if there's work that needs to be done, she could leave it to them, but  _no_ , it just had to be  _me_. It's clear, she's downright bullying me, and that just sickens me. And you think that's as far as she'll go? Hell no, not even close. The directors actually paid a visit to our office today, and they had a meeting with her as well as the other managers. I thought that it meant that I could finally have some peace and quiet to myself, so I could mind my own business, put my head down, and just get my work done. But you know what she made me do? Wow, she really 'put me in my place' — that's really what she said. She made me bring coffee to all the big bosses, wash the cups and utensils, move the chairs and tables, fetch this, fetch that, even take out the trash and whatnot...hell, I'm not a lowly slave, and it's so demeaning! That's not even part of my job! If everybody else was also instructed to help out, then I wouldn't mind also contributing, but that's clearly not the case. And so, just as I was thinking, I must have hit rock bottom; there could not possibly be anything worse than how she was treating me right now — and did I mention the  _tone_  she used? Fuck — it gets worse! Yeah, it does actually get worse. Who even knew that was possible?" She was seething, needing to catch her breath first, but she was far from done.

"So, some of my other colleagues and I got called in for another meeting before the directors left. It was about a project that I participated in. I played quite an important role in making this project a success, and in fact you could say that I carried it because of course there would be free riders. That bitch — shit, I'm so angry right now — she took credit for  _all_  of my successful ideas, and then when it came to the evaluation with the directors, she shut down my input and suggestions, and made it seem like I hadn't contributed  _at all_. I don't know if they actually believed her, but it was so bad. Goodness, it was just  _so bad_  that even the free-riding colleagues actually stood up to defend me and explained the extent of my involvement in the project. It was ridiculous! And that's just within  _one day_  of work. I shouldn't have to put up with all this crap just because she's bitter that I'm dating someone she could never have!"

Sehun gave her a minute to calm down. "You're right. She was too much. You shouldn't have to run those tasks and it's not what you were hired for. That's just low of her but no doubt the directors will know what's at play. I'm sure they have a clue about office politics. She was a bully to you and I'm sorry you had to go through all that. You don't deserve any of that, baby. I'm sorry." With that, he held her close to his chest and patted her affectionately. "I wish I could do something to make it stop. My baby doesn't deserve this."

"Well, you don't have to," she grumbled, straightening up again as the food arrived and she was eager to dig in. For obvious reasons she did not have much of an appetite during lunch hour but now, the chicken looked so appetising she was already salivating. "I quit my job already."

He almost spat out his black soda drink. "What?"

"You heard me. I'm serious. I quit my job. Today. And packed my things and left altogether. I'm not going back anymore. I can't stand it. I know she's just going to continue to torment me on a daily basis and that's just...not healthy for me! Professionally  _and_  personally. Heck, she's using her authority at work to lash out at me because of a personal issue and her grudge against me. I don't see the merit in working for someone like that. There's no way I can possibly develop my career as long as I stay under her thumb. It was all good when I was under my previous supervisor, but I won't tolerate her behaviour any longer. I wrote my resignation letter on the spot and handed it in. She was delighted to see me go; you really should've seen her face, so wicked that I got chills even though I was already all worked up and frustrated because of how she treated me. I got the hell out of there and that's how I managed to be here having dinner with you right now," she revealed, then suddenly recalled something. "But by the way, how did  _you_  manage to get here? You keep working overtime for the past, what, couple of months?"

"Aha, yes, that's what I was going to tell you. It's confirmed. I got the job promotion." He beamed proudly at her and looked so delighted that she could not help but return the smile, equally proud of him.

"You got it? Oh my goodness!" She almost squealed in excitement, grasping his hands. "I'm so, so happy for you, Sehunnie. Finally, some good news today. We need to celebrate."

He nodded smugly. "Yes we do." As soon as these words of agreement had slipped out of his mouth, he had pressed his lips to hers. It  _never_  failed to make her heart flutter when he kissed her. It was such a sweet reminder that this was Oh Sehun for goodness' sake, and he loved her, and he was hers, and she had him all to herself. Grateful that they were seated in a secluded corner of the restaurant, it was not long until she was leaning into the kiss and congratulating him in a way that only she could. She was sure she would have continued doing that if she was not  _so damn hungry_.

"So what kind of celebration do you have in mind?" He asked, placing an arm around her waist and purring in her ear. He gave her one more peck on the cheek before reaching to grab the cutlery and napkins.

"You know what kind," she winked at him as she rearranged the plates on the table.

"Hmm...I wonder." He could barely contain his grin now. "Is it the best kind?"

"Only the best for my love," she cooed and smiled at him.

The smile on his face grew even wider. "Only the best  _from_  my love."

* * *

For Youngeun, one of the best feelings in the world was when she could wake up naturally in the morning, and it hit her that she could continue sleeping and would not be late for anything. That was the life of a jobless person, but for a sleep-deprived jobless person it felt incredibly nice to get to close her eyes and go right back to sleep. What felt even nicer was that she got to hold Sehun a little longer in her arms as well. A blessing, always, and a feeling she had missed.

"So what time do you actually have to get up for work now that you got the promotion?" She asked croakily as she stretched her arms. Happily she snuggled closer to him and let him gently play with her hair.

He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and said, "my hours are more flexible now, so...in an hour's time?"

She nodded contently and yawned. "Perfect."

* * *

"I have two pieces of news," Sehun announced when he got home from work that day. "Do you want to hear the good news first or the good news first?" Taking a quick glance at her laptop screen, giddily he broke into a beam as he placed his bags on the chair nearest to the door. "We can start looking for flights and hotels in Italy and Spain. I was gonna tell you, I was able to get the two-week vacation we really wanted."

Her smile mirrored his. "That's great news! When can we go?"

"Next month," he answered, sitting down and holding her hand. "It'll be like we've always wanted. I can finally whisk you away and we can spend so much quality time together."

"Honestly this is the best news I've heard in an incredibly long time," she replied in delight. "I can't wait."

"Neither can I! But hold on, there's more: it seems you aren't going to be jobless for much longer," he revealed. "You remember my friend Junmyeon?"

She nodded. "Of course. The rich man, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Well, the situation is a bit complicated," he explained, scratching the nape of his neck. "But to make it simple, basically he and his...girlfriend would like to privately hire you to design their countryside villa."

"Girlfriend?" She frowned, more in confusion than in disapproval. "But...didn't we get invited to his wedding last time...?"

"Yeah, that's the thing. That's why I said it was complicated."

"So basically he has a mistress? And he's got a countryside villa to make it easier for him to have his extramarital affairs? Wow, he and his wife looked so happy at their wedding, I never thought that he would..."

"He's still my friend, so I'd like to try to help him out, although you don't have to take them up on their offer if you don't want to. I just thought that you could still get an income from this, so you wouldn't have to be under that much urgent pressure to rush to find another firm to work in. You can think about it," he suggested.

"Yeah, I will," she replied appreciatively.

"Great," he said. "I'll get back to Junmyeon and we can meet up with the two of them this weekend, probably over lunch or something."

* * *

Finally the vacation plans between Youngeun and Sehun came to fruit, and hardly anything was nicer than finding themselves in a rather luxurious hotel in Venice. It was undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking places in the world, and even the view from their hotel room was superb. The skies were blue and the air was clean and the waters were clear. How lovely was it that they could be spending their 2-year anniversary there. Not a single skyscraper in sight, and none of the hustle and bustle of the city life either. It was a stress-free and worry-free holiday that they both cherished.

By the time they returned to the comfort and privacy of their suite, it was evening and after a day of sightseeing, eating gelato, and shopping. Once they got back and settled down, she had the urge to try on the pretty necklace that Sehun had bought for her from Murano, the island best known for manufacturing glass products. She loved it, admiring how brilliantly it dazzled and how beautiful its colours were. When she finally had the heart to take it off, she realised that Sehun had just stepped out of the bathroom and had not bothered to wear a shirt.

"Oh my gosh, where's your shirt?" She giggled. "Put it back on."

"It's too hot." He shook his head and fanned himself, and then smirked slightly as he tilted his head to the side. "What are you shy for anyway? It's not like you haven't seen me like this before. In fact I recall you  _quite liking it_."

"I'm not being shy," she whined lightheartedly. "It's just, I do like it, and seeing you like this makes me want to do certain things."

"Hmm? Like what things?" He prodded 'innocently'.

"You  _know_  what things," she replied, not taking her eyes off of him anyway. "I'm not telling you."

"No need to tell me as long as you'll show me." He strode toward her confidently, and everything — from his swagger to the way he licked his lips — was telling her that he was about to make a move, at least kiss her or something. But when he was right in front of her, he stopped, and did nothing more, only casually standing. "By the way, our dinner table is booked for 8 o'clock, right?"

A fire was roused within her. Clearly he would not have forgotten the time for tonight's reservation on such a special occasion. He was up to something, but was he just going to pretend he did not think what he was doing was having an effect on her? Oh, she could play along with that.

"Yep. We can even take a nap before going out again," she said singsong as she looked him dead in the eye and got up.

The slightest raise of his eyebrow was enough to indicate that he felt entertained that he was getting a reaction out of her. "A nap? You sure?"

"Yeah, we woke up fairly early today and walked around a lot, didn't we?" She faked a yawn as she stretched her arms. Next thing she knew — she was not even sure which one came first: the flash of a mischievous smirk over his face, the squeal that escaped her lips, or his advances that elicited it in the first place. He had his arms wrapped around her and tackled her to the bed, landing on the mattress with a considerably heavy thud. He  _knew_  he caught her by surprise, but the surprise did not stop there. Smoothly, he flipped her over and for now kept her on top and close to him.

"Still sure you want a nap?" He asked, voice dropping low to a murmur to guide her into a seductive mood.

Feeling her hands sink into the coolness of the sheets and being so close to him like this, it did make her desire more physical contact and carnal intimacy with him, but it was also fun to tease him. "Positive. I'm sleepy," she claimed, glancing at his lips. It felt nice to be spontaneous and unhurried, unlike most of the encounters between the two of them before he got that inspiriting job promotion.

"Sure you are," he uttered playfully, buying none of it. His hands moved up from her waist to her back, passing her shoulder blades and eventually settled on her arms. "Let me take my time with you, my love," he offered, relishing and savoring the chance to pamper her and shower her with his attention and affection. Nothing else, no one else, could take priority over her. Even if she truly desired a nap, she would have gladly forgone it to be in his spotlight, making sacrifices for what was really worth her while.

She nodded happily, not letting too wide a smile get in the way as she leaned in to kiss him. It was effortless and relaxed, the way her lips moved against his. With Sehun it was seldom about nailing it and getting it right all the time. It was more about experimenting and discovering what the two of them liked in bed, and how to give and get the best enjoyment together. No pressure, no burdens, and no rush.

Smooth as always, he deepened the kiss and gradually sat up as he did so, as well as letting his tongue slide into her mouth in a slow but undeniable blaze. She remained where he wanted her, straddling him and in his arms. He wanted her to be comfortable, letting her shift and adjust at her ease. But of course, that would turn into her unintentionally grinding on him — and then altogether she was intentionally grinding on him. She was pleased to see that his body was definitely reacting to her motions the way it should. He was hard, and his hands began to reach for her clothes, tugging and pulling lightly, but enough to let her know he wanted them out of the way. Swiftly she undressed, so that soon enough her hands could go back to caressing his face and engaging him in another kiss. She did not think she was consciously directing his movements, just nudging his chest lightly. He got the hint though, and lied back down to make it easier for her to thumb his jawline affectionately, her line of kisses quickly following and reaching his earlobe too. As she moved further down to his neck, her hands also went to his shoulders to give them a good squeeze.

Matching her energy, he had her roll over so he could take the reins, also putting himself in a convenient position to unzip his jeans. Deftly he got out of them and kicked them to the side of the bed. Suddenly it had occurred to her that perhaps it was not  _entirely_  bad that the two of them had grown accustomed to hasty sex — he had become most efficient in disrobing, and that was great, because she could hardly wait for him to resume kissing her. She was practically pulling him down onto her once he was bare except for his undergarments just like she was. Instantly his lips met hers, his hands found hers and clasped into them, pressed firmly into the pillows. By now both of them were sweating, eager, and horny as hell. Without delay, his lips brushed past the side of her face to find a sweet spot behind her ear, suckling on it. That move had elicited a gasp from her as he set her senses on fire with how he kissed and licked all the right spots. He showed no mercy to her smooth neck, even feeling her quickening pulse and how sensitive she was. On some nights he would be so caught up in the moment that he was not even fully aware of how fervently he was kissing her, until the next morning when light scarlet marks began to show.

Absorbed in their passion, his mouth wandered lower, past her neck, and settled upon her collarbone. Gently he nipped at her skin there, freeing up one of his hands to travel down her body. When he found the edge of her underwear upon her hip bone, absentmindedly he started to toy with it between his fingers. He proceeded without obstacle, grabbing a handful of her bottom and trailing his hand down her thigh. At the same time he moved back up altogether, returning to kiss her on the mouth more passionately than before. She did more than reciprocate in the same fashion, arching her back just enough for him to slip his other hand in to unclasp her bra, flinging it to the side even more recklessly than just now. Once he propped himself up with one arm to take some of his weight off her body, her hands were free to go to his hair. She tugged on it lightly as she urged him to give her more, so he wasted no time and peppered kisses over her chest and tummy. He did not need to hear words from her mouth to know how responsive her body was to his actions and attention; even her heartbeat was in tandem with the pace of his kisses on each inch of her skin, quickening like her breathing.

At the sound of his name on her lips, coming in the form of a breathy whine, he slowed down and flicked a glance up at her. He bit his lip and then asked teasingly, "time for a nap?"

"Don't you dare stop," she warned as a giggle fell from her lips; he was not really going to play her like that. "Get me out of these; I'm so wet," she demanded, pushing at the fabric of her underwear.

"As you wish." He clicked his tongue in amusement, loving how ready she was. He did her bidding with ease, but not before he got naked too. Thankful that she could reach the nightstand drawer, she grabbed a condom and rolled it onto his length with practised ease. As she glanced up at him, she found that he was biting his lip in arousal, sweat dripping from his forehead and hanging upon his eyebrows. She pumped his length in her hands a few times, stroking up and down. She loved getting a good feel of how hard and how huge he was before inviting him to crawl atop her once more. His hands were resting on her knees, gesturing for her to spread her legs under his touch. Once he found the right angle, he went for it and did not hesitate at all — she would hardly allow him to, given how urgently she was helping him push into her. Her hands went from his hips to his butt, slowly roaming up his back and lingering a while when she reached his shoulder blades. He groaned at how good it felt to be inside her, and when he pushed in deeper, wanting more, it made her hiss at the stretch but moan at the subsequent pleasure. He gave her more of it, both of them getting more vocal about sharing this pleasure as his slow thrusts got into a steady rhythm. Certainly the pleasure built up more quickly for him than for her, and she could tell from the look on his sweaty face that he was really into it. But there was no way he would let her get any less satisfaction than he was having. As he continuously rolled his hips into hers, his hands found her thighs once more. He cupped them with a tenderness that made her moan, and lifted them so she could wrap them around his hips. She cooperated by shifting lower and nibbling on his neck, the modified position taking its desired effect almost instantly as with each of his thrusts came heightened pleasure for her.

Digging her nails into his back, she carried on this pursuit for the best angle to align their bodies together, only becoming more eager and needy when he picked up more pace and brought more passion into his movements. Their breathing became heavier and their eagerness to claim each other only grew; she was touching him everywhere she could reach, and he reciprocated in the same manner. When she pushed her pelvis up, her body, hungry for more stimulation and pleasure, absolutely approved of this move as she quickly felt herself clench around him. The ecstasy from meeting his thrusts had her almost trembling and reaching for his scalp. He drew her into another round of wet, sloppy, open-mouthed kisses while he went even harder. The additional friction and stimulation had her gasping for air and him grunting knowing he was close. At the same time she was also about to meet her powerful peak. He was clutching a pillow with one hand, the other caressing her waist and then her hip. To his delight he found that he could go even deeper, and nothing was holding him back. That was it for her, letting out a blissful cry as she was overcome by the ecstasy of her intense orgasm. Mindlessly she threw her arms over his shoulders and brought him closer to her, needing him and holding on to him. In the midst of his passion he let out a cuss, his grunts becoming more frequent just like his thrusts. Before her own climax could subside, his was washing over him, rendering him unable to make any sound except a long groan in delight and a few breathless echoes of it.

She sighed blissfully, affectionately stroking his hair with the pads of her fingers. He took a moment before lifting himself off of her, their sweaty bodies needing some time to cool down.

"Let's take a shower?" He suggested, reaching out to hold her hand in his.

"Yeah, let's do that," she smiled and curled her fingers around his.

* * *

Perhaps luck is when preparation meets opportunity, but it certainly takes more than that to make a relationship work. It takes a lot of love, and trust, and patience.

2 years and counting.


End file.
